Davenport - In a poll taken April 30th and May 1st, of 400 registered voters, Governor Terry Branstad has a fifteen point lead over his Democrat challenger, State Senator, Jack Hatch.
In the survey of voters, 48% indicated they would either definitely or probably vote for Branstad, while 33% said the same of Hatch.
"The Governor's lead is about where it should be at this point for an incumbent governor in a state without some of the political upheaval we are seeing elsewhere," said Steve Grubbs, CEO of Victory Enterprises.
The survey is balanced by party affiliation, gender, age and geography. "We used the party turnout numbers from 2010 as the basis to set our targets for this survey. In that year, 40% of voter turnout was Republican and 35% Democrat. In this off-year election, 2010 is the best predictor of voter participation this year."
In order for Senator Hatch to win, he will need to change the nature of the race substantially between now and November. As it stands, he would need to win the undecided voters 9:1 in order to overcome Branstad's lead.
In other results, the Governor's job performance sits at 54% approving and 32% disapproving.
"The bottom line is the governor is sitting in a strong position as he enters the summer. Incumbents prefer to be over 50% in their re-elect ballot test to feel comfortable, so its clear the governor cannot take this election for granted," said Grubbs.
Click to view the Iowa Statewide Survey top lines.
The survey has a margin of error of 4.9% and 400 registered voters participated.
This survey is the proprietary property of Victory Enterprises, Inc.
